The Proposal

Hollywood romcom. Sandra Bullock plays Margaret, a demanding, unpopular boss at a publishing company who forces her long-suffering assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her, in order to avoid being deported to Canada. The couple have to convince Homeland Security - and Andrew's family in small-town Alaska - that they are really in love.

David Jenkins, Time Out: Despite sporadically amusing performances from the two leads, this ticks all the same boxes as films like Green Card, Meet the Parents and The Devil Wears Prada, including a perpetuation of the myth that inside every ruthless, independently minded businesswoman lies a fragile fawn just waiting to be drawn out by some buff, liberal drone. (Verdict: two stars out of five)

Toby Young, the Times: On the surface, The Proposal looks like a lot of other romantic comedies, particularly Green Card, but it departs from convention in one crucial respect: the emotionally constipated, middle-aged executive is played by a woman and the frisky young secretary by a man. This gender switch gives the story a feminist subtext and its makers deserve credit for trying to breath new life into an exhausted genre. (Verdict: two stars out of five) ·